The Lazy Landlord and His Shura Field

The moment Li Hao stepped into Paradise Valley, the maddening clamor of the outside world was cut off completely.

He let out a long breath, relaxing from head to toe until he nearly collapsed onto the grass beside the lake.

He was exhausted.

Dealing with people really was more tiring than fighting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Especially when it came to dealing with a clingy, hard-to-handle Little Demoness like Ning Rongrong.

"Dad!"

A petite figure rushed into his arms, carried by a gust of fragrant air.

It was Xiao Wu.

Worry was written all over her little face as she clung tightly to Li Hao's arm, looking him up and down with concern.

"Where did you go? Are you hurt?"

"Did that brat bully you?"

The brat she meant was naturally the pink-dressed girl who had tried to pester Li Hao on the outskirts of Star Dou Forest.

She had only sensed her from a distance, but Xiao Wu's instincts told her that human girl was no good.

Li Hao hadn't even had a chance to answer.

The temperature in the air suddenly dropped several degrees.

"Hmph."

A faint snort, brimming with queenly disdain, came from the side.

Medusa's figure appeared without a sound. Her emerald-green snake eyes glanced meaningfully toward Zhu Zhuqing.

The meaning was clear.

Look, there's another one. You'd better keep a close eye on your master.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing.

But she had been standing three paces from Li Hao, and now she unconsciously edged half a step closer.

That half-step brought her nearer to him.

It was a silent territorial claim, the kind made by a feline.

Li Hao had only just escaped the social hell outside, and now he felt his back going cold again.

This delicate atmosphere...

Why was it starting up again?

His social-anxiety radar blared another piercing alarm.

"Ahem!"

Li Hao jolted, hurriedly sitting up from the grass in an attempt to steer the conversation away from this dangerous topic.

He ruffled Xiao Wu's hair and forced an exaggerated smile.

"Our Xiao Wu is the best girl. You looked after the house so well—you deserve a reward!"

As he spoke, he fumbled in his Storage Soul Tool and pulled out a packet of malt candy he had picked up in a town outside.

He had prepared these strategic supplies especially for emergencies like this.

"Wow! Candy!"

Xiao Wu's attention was immediately drawn to it. She happily took the sweets, unwrapped one, and popped it into her mouth, her little face scrunching up with delight.

A harem war that had been about to erupt seemed to have been forcibly quelled by a single piece of candy.

Li Hao let out a long sigh of relief.

Being a landlord was hard.

However, the peace he imagined was only a brief lull before the storm.

Ever since the Ning Rongrong incident, daily life in Soul Beast Paradise had quietly changed.

The three Soul Beast Girls had developed a peculiar, wordless contest for his attention.

For instance, when Li Hao finished a day of lazing about and stretched out on a lounge chair by the lake for a nap,

Xiao Wu would rush over at once, eagerly raising her tiny fists.

"Dad, let me give you a back rub! My Soft Bone Rabbit massage is super relaxing!"

The moment she finished speaking,

a fair hand would offer Li Hao a cup of warm water at just the right temperature, with a few Clear Heart Grass leaves floating on top.

Medusa had appeared beside him at some point, her movements elegant and her bearing haughty.

"Drink."

She said only one word, but it carried the commanding air of a queen.

And just as Li Hao began to feel his scalp prickle from being attacked on both sides,

he would discover that the lounge chair beneath him had somehow been replaced with a softer, more comfortable hide-covered daybed.

Beside it, a little awning woven from vines had appeared to block out the sun.

In the shadows not far away, Zhu Zhuqing's figure flashed past, quietly taking no credit for her work.

She never said a word, yet always found the most practical way to make her presence known.

Caught between them, Li Hao often felt awkward and got a headache.

For someone with social anxiety, nothing was worse than becoming the center of attention.

And now, every day he had to fight for survival beneath three fiercely intense gazes.

But...

It didn't seem so bad, either?

Being cared for, looked after, and needed.

This sweet burden, so full of the warmth of everyday life, was gradually bringing the warmth of "home" to his long-isolated heart.

Wasn't this the peaceful, lazy life he had always wanted—a life with family by his side?

Though the process was a little more thrilling than expected.

Amid this strange atmosphere, every day in Paradise passed peacefully and pleasantly.

The three Soul Beast Girls were also steadily growing stronger in Paradise's almost unfairly abundant environment.

From time to time, Li Hao used his Martial Soul's [Reverse Empowerment] ability to nourish their bodies and souls with the pure Soul Power he had fished up.

Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit bloodline grew purer by the day. When she ran, her long legs moved so fast they were almost impossible to see.

After adapting to the laws of Douluo Continent, Medusa's soul and body grew increasingly integrated, and the pressure of a Dou Huang began to truly settle within her.

Zhu Zhuqing's progress was the most obvious.

Her [Nether Spirit Cat Royal Bloodline] was already top-tier, and with Paradise's nourishment and Li Hao's empowerment, it had begun evolving toward true "royalty."

With her help, Li Hao further improved the Nether Ecological Zone within Paradise.

The shadows in that area grew deeper, even attracting some harmless Nether-attribute Soul Beasts from the outside, such as Shadow-Devouring Butterflies and Nightmare Beast cubs, who came to settle there.

Paradise was growing more diverse and brimming with life.

And through the bond of [Ability Sharing], Li Hao's own Soul Power was being consolidated without him even noticing. He was now just one step away from the bottleneck of level thirty.

One evening,

Li Hao sat alone by the lake.

He took from his arms the White Jade Pendant that Ning Rongrong had accidentally pulled off.

The pendant was smooth and cool to the touch. A finely carved seven-story pagoda adorned it—the symbol of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

A faint Soul Power Mark, belonging to a top-tier support-type Martial Soul, flowed quietly across the pendant.

This thing was a hot potato.

But at the same time, it was an opportunity to establish contact with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

A potential karmic connection had already been quietly set in motion.

Li Hao rubbed the pendant between his fingers, then finally shook his head and put it away again.

Forget it.

He'd deal with the future when it came.

It was best to avoid trouble if he could.

He put the distractions aside, closed his eyes, and prepared to enter meditation and carefully organize the Soul Power he had gained recently.

The evening breeze drifted through the valley, and insects chirped all around.

Everything was as peaceful as a painting.

However.

At the very instant his mind sank into his sea of energy and connected with his Martial Soul,

Buzz—!

The [Karma Fishing Rod], which he treated as the core of his Martial Soul, suddenly shuddered with an unprecedented, violent yearning!

The tremor was far more intense and urgent than when he had sensed Ning Rongrong before!

It wasn't calling for help.

It was... summoning him!

A summons rooted in bloodline and destiny, impossible to resist!

In the depths of the unseen,

Li Hao's consciousness was drawn away by an invisible force.

The tranquil valley vanished from before his eyes.

A phantom plant appeared in his perception, illusory yet incomparably real, and slowly bloomed.

It was a strange Immortal Herb.

Its flower unfurled nine petals, their colors exquisite. Its fragrance was so intense it seemed capable of penetrating the soul.